I Wanna Know Why You Got Me Going
by sentbyfools
Summary: AU. Emma was never sent through the wardrobe to our world. Instead the curse fails, and Emma is sent to Neverland, where she grows up into a thief for hire. When Captain Hook docks at their port, Emma is tasked with stealing a special item from him. The robbery is supposed to be an easy get-in, get-out, but things don't go as planned.
1. Prologue

**Title: **i wanna know why you got me going

**Summary: **AU. Emma was never sent through the wardrobe to our world. Instead the curse fails, and Emma is sent to Neverland, where she grows up into a thief for hire. When Captain Hook docks at their port, Emma is tasked with stealing a special item from him. The robbery is supposed to be an easy get-in, get-out, but things don't go as planned.

**Notes: **I haven't been this excited by a fic in ages. I suppose that's a good sign, right? Much thanks to allisoniskiller for looking this over for me. Sorry for the shortness of this. Part 1 will be at a more reasonable length.

* * *

Emma walks into the bar and heads over to the agreed upon meeting place. She takes notice of the raucous men and women at the corner table, always wary of possible danger, but pays more attention to the quiet, nervous looking man in the corner. She sits at the table across from him, watching him for any signs that he might be a bounty hunter. He looks like any normal middle-aged trader, but he could be anyone or anything. In Neverland, nothing was ever as it seemed.

"You wanted to meet?" she says when he doesn't speak for a long time. She doesn't offer her name - a precautionary measure.

He jumps slightly, but then composes himself, points over to the corner table, and says, "You see that man over there?"

"The leader?" she surmises when her eyes catch sight of the handsome man at the center of all the bar's commotion.

"Yes, he's Captain Hook."

So that was the infamous Captain Hook - Emma finally spots the silver hook where his hand should be. She sighs. She should've known better than to take this meeting.

"Please don't go," he says as if sensing her desire to leave. "He's stolen something very important to me. I will pay you anything if you get it back for me."

Emma raises a brow at that. _Anything_...anything could be, well, anything. The only thing Emma really wants is to be truly happy, but since that doesn't look like it'll be happening anytime soon, she'll settle for enough gold to keep her supported for the next couple of months.

"I'll take 100 gold pieces, now what do you want me to steal?" she says, her gaze focused on Captain Hook. He is grinning at one of the barmaids, and Emma rolls her eyes as he gropes the woman. _Pirates_.

"It's a bean," he says. "A magic bean."


	2. Chapter 1

**Title: **i wanna know why you got me going

**Summary: **AU. Emma was never sent through the wardrobe to our world. Instead the curse fails, and Emma is sent to Neverland, where she grows up into a thief for hire. When Captain Hook docks at their port, Emma is tasked with stealing a special item from him. The robbery is supposed to be an easy get-in, get-out, but things don't go as planned.

**Notes: **Thank you to everyone who reviewed; I'm really glad that you're enjoying this story and I hope you continue to do so. In regards to the title of this fic, it's from "Ready to Go (Get Me Out of My Mind)" by Panic!at the Disco.

* * *

They go over the logistics in detail. Emma gets half of her payment up front because of the dangers involved, and the other half when she delivers the bean. The plan is for Emma to sneak aboard the ship while the crew is still on land and steal the bean out of the Captain's quarters, the place that the trader is certain he is keeping the bean.

Emma leaves the bar, checking to make sure that the pirates are preoccupied. More women and men have gravitated towards their table. Once she is outside, she makes her way to the ship quickly; there is no point in wasting time. The pirates may remain at the bar for a while, or they may not. She can't be certain of anything.

Getting on the ship serves to be the tricky part. She waits for a long while until the man patrolling the deck goes below, and then she races onto the ship and across it to the captain's quarters.

She picks the lock on the door easily and smiles to herself at her success. She doesn't shut it behind her, wary of not being able to hear someone coming up to the door, but she shuts it just enough for it to look unbothered.

"Now where would I be if I were a magic bean?" she whispers to herself as she looks around Hook's room. There isn't much to it: just a bed, a wardrobe, a chest no doubt filled with gold and other looted goods, and a desk. The chest seems like the best bet, but then she thinks longer about it and goes for the desk instead.

As she is searching through the desk, she hears a noise behind her. She starts to turn at the sound and something hits her over the head, leaving her in darkness.

* * *

She wakes up with a pain in her head. She reaches up to rub it, but finds herself unable to. Her hands are cuffed together at the wrists and that is when she remembers where she is. Cursing herself for her stupidity, she looks around wildly until her eyes are fall on the man in the corner. _Hook_ - _he came back._

She fights with the cuffs holding her hands together. Hook turns around at the sound of her struggle. He frowns at her and takes a step towards the bed that she is lying on.

"Lass, those are magical handcuffs," he says.

"I know exactly what they are," she hisses, twisting her hands within her bonds in an effort to break free. "Let me go."

He gives her a bored look. "So you can attempt to steal from me again?"

"I'm only taking back what you've stolen."

He scoffs at her. "...unwilling to fight me for it, so he sends a girl?"

"Woman," Emma says. She jumps up off the bed and kicks him in the shin hard enough to send him sprawling. It probably wasn't the smartest of moves, but he'd pissed her off and she was starting to panic a little. Magical handcuffs. They only came off when the person who handcuffed you wished them to.

She kicks him again only hard enough to stop him when he tries to get to his feet. "Where's the bean?" she says.

To her surprise, all he does is laugh. "For a woman, you pack quite a punch."

She rolls her eyes. "Where's the bean?" she demands again.

"So Max didn't tell you, did he?" Hook says from his position on the floor.

Emma looks down at him as she continues to try to slip her hands free of the cuffs despite the futility of the action. "Max who? And tell me what?" she says suspiciously, watching him for any signs of movement towards her. She doesn't trust him as far as she can throw him.

"Max, the trader who undoubtedly hired you to steal from me. He gave me the bean in return for the gold he probably gave you. Realizing his mistake, he sent you after me to take it back," Hook explains.

"That's a great story," Emma says even as his words start to sink in.

"It's not a story. It's the truth," he snaps.

Emma's ability to read the truth in people's words either fails her or agrees with his statement because his words ring true. Emma takes two steps back and watches silently as he stands up.

After a moment of staring each other down, he finally says, "I release you."

"You're letting me go?" She stares at him with wide eyes as the cuffs fall off onto the ground. She stiffens, preparing herself for a fight.

"I may not be the most honourable or forgiving of men, but I'm willing to let you redeem yourself. Go find Max, ask him about our deal, and see who the liar really is," Hook says.

Emma stares at him suspiciously. _It can't be that easy, can it?_ When he doesn't make a move towards her, she considers fighting him for the bean. It would be difficult to take him down, but she is sure she could manage it. But is it really worth it? His words felt like the truth, and Emma would rather be assured that she was doing the right thing than fight a man for something that possibly belongs to him.

"I'm leaving," she announces slowly, wary that he might still try to stop her.

He waves her past him with his hook. Emma moves by him quickly and out the door of his cabin. She ignores the looks she receives from the men on the ship as she makes her way back on land.

_That went well,_ she thinks sullenly when she has gotten a safe distance away from Hook's boat. Cursing herself again for her stupidity, she makes her way back to the bar and the trader - _Max_ - intent on finding out the truth for herself.

When she enters the bar, she sees the trader sitting at the same table that she left him at. She walks over to him, and upon seeing her, he stands up and closes the distance between them.

"Did you retrieve the bean?" the trader asks, looking her over greedily. He sticks his hand out, waiting for her to give him the desired object.

Emma ignores his question and asks, "Where'd you get the gold?"

"Gold? Never mind the gold, where is the _bean_?" he stresses, his expression turning desperate, almost feral-like.

"How did you get the gold?" Emma asks again.

"It was payment for a transaction," he says evasively. He may not be lying but Emma knows immediately that something isn't right.

"Max, that's your name, right?"

He stares at her dumbfounded. "How did you know that? We never -"

"Hook didn't steal the bean from you; he paid you for it," she accuses.

He shakes his head no, but his body language says otherwise. Emma sighs and says to herself, "I need to start asking more questions from now on."

"I'm leaving," she says, "If you want the bean back, you can get it yourself."

The trader's eyes widen and then quicker than she even thought he could move, he starts grabbing at the purse at her side.

"You're not leaving with my gold," he says.

He pulls out a dagger and thrusts it at her. Emma manages to dodge it only barely; she can feel the whoosh of air as the blade slices past her side. She pulls herself out of his reach, trying to gather herself together before his next attack.

When he tries to stab her again, she kicks out and hits him in the chest, knocking him backwards onto a table. Before he has the chance to stand up, she kicks the blade out of his hand and then presses her elbow to his throat, successfully choking him.

"When I let you go," she says carefully, "You better leave and I better not see your face again. The gold's mine, and like I said before, if you want the bean back, you can get it yourself. Are we clear?"

Eyes bulging, Max nods against the heavy weight pressed against his throat. Emma releases him and he lies there, panting and coughing. She picks up his fallen dagger lest he get anymore bright ideas and pockets it.

He stares at her angrily but doesn't attack. Instead he stands up and looks around. Emma notices the other bar patrons then they're staring at her and the trader with unveiled interest - and _this day just keeps getting better and better_; _so much for keeping a low profile._

Finally, he walks past her, almost tip-toeing around her, and exits the bar.

The bar patrons continue to stare at her and after a long moment of uncomfortable silence, Emma says, "Alright the show's over. Back to whatever it is you were doing before."

There's a murmur of grumbling and annoyance, but there must be something in her tone because all eyes leave her. Emma considers leaving the place, but one quick glance at the bar, and she decides she needs a drink.

It is much later in the night and Emma is nursing a beer when Hook shows up in the bar.

"Ah, so it seems you've discovered the truth for yourself," Hook says, coming up behind her. Emma turns in her seat to look at him.

"Yeah, after he tried to steal back the gold that he gave me, the pieces kind of fell into place," she says in between sips of her beer.

"I never got your name," he says.

Emma puts down her drink - it isn't doing anything for her anyway - and stands up.

"Emma Swan," she offers finally. Hook is probably by far the most dangerous man she has ever met, but she doesn't see the point in hiding her name. If he wanted to find it out, he would.

"Well, Emma, we were never properly introduced. Killian Jones at your service, also known as Captain Hook," he says, bowing dramatically. "I'd like to invite you to travel with me to my former land."

She gives him a disbelieving look. "I kick your ass, try to steal from you, and your response is to invite me on your travels? I'm not buying it - and I'm definitely saying no."

Ignoring her reply, Hook steps into her personal space, preventing her from leaving, and says, "But you haven't heard the best part, love."

Emma crosses her arms across her chest and gives him a wide, fake smile. "Let me guess, this is the moment where you tell me some story about a magical land where you never grow old. I'm living that lie already."

He laughs heartily at her words. When he stops laughing, he stares at her, smiling.

"You will make a great pirate, love," he says. He gives her a heated look that makes Emma more than a little uncomfortable. _Pirates._

"_Will_? What part of I'm not going with you did you not understand?"

"I know something that you don't," he says.

Emma isn't really in the mood to be playing games with him. She can't prevent her snappish tone when she says, "And what's that?"

"I know where your parents are," he says.

Emma opens her mouth to speak but finds she has no proper words.

"Wha-"

"I know where your parents are and I'm going to reunite you with them," he says. "A thank you would be nice."

He is so smug about it that Emma barely realizes it when she takes a swing at him. He catches the fist before it can connect.

He releases her hand, shaking his head at her. "You think me to be mocking you, but I'm not. In my world, there is a man that knows all. He can help you find your parents...if you take the trip with me," he says.

"How did you know?" she asks softly, surprising herself with her tone.

"You have the look of a lost boy, the look of an orphan."

Emma nods at his words. She stares at him for long moments, searching his face for the lie. She finds nothing there. He's telling the truth - telling the truth about being able to reunite her with her parents, and she has no idea what to feel about that. Growing up an orphan in a land like Neverland…Emma had forced herself to give up on that dream a long, long time ago. With his words though, hope is building within her again and she can't seem to stop it. How many times had she dreamed about them coming to find her, to save her, to tell her they love her and that they would never leave her again?

She clears her throat and forces her mind back in the present. Studying him carefully for any signs of deceit, she says, "And what do you get out of this?"

"The company of a lovely lass?" he offers.

Emma crosses her arms. "Try again."

He chuckles and then grows more serious. "I need your help with a small task that falls right within your area of expertise."

"You want me to steal something for you," she states.

He nods in response.

"Why do I get the feeling that what you want me to do is the exact opposite of 'a small task'?"

He grins at her widely, voice lowering an octave as he says, "Would I lie to you?"

"Not successfully, no," she says, ignoring his tone.

"Then, trust me. I know it'll be hard for you, but if this partnership is going to work out you're going to have to try."

Emma makes a noise close to a snort. "Partnership, yeah, right. You lie to me and I will know," she threatens. "And if you double-cross me..."

"Pirate's honor," he says, crossing his fingers over his heart and smiling at her widely.

Emma rolls her eyes at the notion of a pirate with honor, but takes him at his word all the same. That small task, it's probably nothing good, but to have the chance to travel to a new world, to possibly find her parents - it's a risk she is willing to take.

"We set sail at dawn," he says.

Emma nods at him. He smiles at her and reaches out his hand. She stares into his smiling face for a long time before reaching out to take his hand.

"You and I are going to make quite the team," he says. The warmth of his hand makes Emma feel something she can't identify. She pulls away quickly.

"We'll see," is all she says in response.


	3. Chapter 2

**Title: **i wanna know why you got me going

**Summary: **AU. Emma was never sent through the wardrobe to our world. Instead the curse fails, and Emma is sent to Neverland, where she grows up into a thief for hire. When Captain Hook docks at their port, Emma is tasked with stealing a special item from him. The robbery is supposed to be an easy get-in, get-out, but things don't go as planned.

**Notes: **Thank you for all the kind reviews and thank you to allisoniskiller for looking this over for me again.

* * *

Emma arrives at the ship just before dawn. It wasn't that it had taken her a long time to pack - she had very few things to her name, just some clothes and other essentials. It was just that she'd spent most of the night going back and forth on her decision to travel with Hook. She barely knows the man and what she knows of him isn't good, yet here she is, trusting him to keep her safe at sea and not betray her to any of the numerous bounty hunters after her. She is risking a lot on the slight chance that he might be able to help her find her parents. She hopes she won't come to regret this, but she is preparing for the fallout just in case.

"Took you long enough, Swan. My men were starting to get antsy," Hook says, standing between her and the ship.

"Your men?" Emma says, stopping in her tracks.

"Yes, my men. The thought of missing out on female company makes them nervous."

"I didn't come here to be _female company,_ and if that's what you had in mind, then you will just have to journey alone."

She picks up her bags and starts to walk back the way she came, fuming and cursing him all the while. It isn't long before she hears footsteps fall behind her, and then a hand grabs her by the shoulder, forcibly pulling her around.

"Swan, wait, you misunderstand me," Hook says quickly, as if she might disappear before he has the chance.

"Oh, do I?" she challenges.

"I didn't mean it that way. It's true that the men desire that kind of female companionship during the long months at sea, but I've already made it clear that you are not offering. I brought you on as partner, not as a whore."

Emma studies him carefully and detects no lie. Sighing heavily, she says, "Alright. Lead on, Hook."

"I'd say 'That's Captain Hook to you,' but I sincerely doubt you'd humour me," he says with a chuckle.

Emma rolls her eyes, but somehow finds herself fighting a grin as well. She glances up at him to see him smiling at her. She looks away quickly, suddenly feeling tense.

"Come on, Swan, let me show you to your quarters," he says, leading her onto the ship.

Emma follows him, growing suspicious with each passing step.

"They should look familiar to you; you've been there before," he says. Emma's suspicions are realized when they stop outside the door to his quarters.

"I'm not sleeping with you," she states firmly.

"And why not?"

Emma gives him a disbelieving look. "Find me another room."

"They're the nicest quarters on the ship," he insists.

"Find. Me. Another. Room."

He shrugs his shoulders. "You're going to wish you had said yes. I'm great company, love," he says.

"I'm sure that's true," she says sarcastically, "but I'd rather have my own room."

He crooks his hook at her to follow and leads her down the stairs into the bowels of the ship. She travels past many rooms until he stops.

"Here, you can stay here," he says.

The quarters are smaller than his and a lot messier as if someone rushed to set them up. Emma gives him another suspicious look.

"If you already knew I wasn't going to stay with you, why offer?"

Hook shrugs. "On the off-chance that you would say yes, I had to make the attempt," he says, grinning cheekily.

"Make the attempt?"

"I'm a pirate, love. Trying to get a beautiful woman into my bed is just my nature," he explains.

Emma sighs. This trip is going to be a long one, it seems.

"When are setting sail then?" she says, trying to move into the room.

He places his hand on her shoulder and says, "I was waiting for you to ask that. Mr. Smee!"

A man comes racing down the hall and stops beside Emma and Hook. He stares Emma up and down as if he can't believe what he's seeing. Emma gives him a similar look in return.

"You hired me once," she says to him.

"Did I? I don't recall," he says, looking between Hook and her nervously.

"Mr. Smee prides himself on being able to get things. That he hired you once speaks to your talent," Hook says. There is a slight edge to his words and he gives Smee a look that doesn't seem to bode well for the man.

"Right," Emma says, feeling slightly bewildered by the conversation.

"Mr. Smee, will give you a tour of the rest of the ship while I get this journey started," Hook says.

With a flourish, he bows and takes his leave. Emma stares after him, and then turns to Smee.

"So, when you hired me to steal that necklace, it was for him?"

Smee nods. "The captain wanted it, so I provided it."

"_I _provided it," Emma corrects. "So, what else is there to see on this ship?"

Smee takes her on a quick tour of the ship and then leads her back above deck. When they reach the top, they've already left port and are starting to pick up speed. Emma has been on a few ships before, travelling between the different islands of Neverland, but never one of this magnitude or grandeur. She listens as Hook shouts commands to his crew and follows the sound until she finds him at the wheel of the ship.

"We'll be on our way soon!" he shouts down at her.

Emma gives him a confused look. "Haven't we already...?"

"Sailing between the islands is one thing, sailing between worlds is another entirely."

He looks positively gleeful as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out something too small for Emma to see. He tosses it at her, and she catches it only to see that it is nothing more than a bean. _A magic bean_, she corrects.

"Is this how we're going to travel?" Emma asks, comprehension starting to dawn on her.

He nods. "Would you like to do the honours, Swan?"

"The honours of what?"

"Of opening the portal, love. Cast the bean into the sea."

Emma studies the bean for a long moment. It's such a small thing to hold so many of her hopes and dreams, so easily crushed.  
Waiting no longer, Emma tosses the bean as far as she can past the ship, thinking only of her parents. There's a loud cheer from the crew as a whirlpool opens beside them and they start to get sucked in. Emma stares at it, open-mouthed in shock and doesn't notice when Hook calls her name.

"This will be a homecoming to remember," is all she hears as they're sucked in.


	4. Chapter 3

**Title: **i wanna know why you got me going

**Summary: **AU. Emma was never sent through the wardrobe to our world. Instead the curse fails, and Emma is sent to Neverland, where she grows up into a thief for hire. When Captain Hook docks at their port, Emma is tasked with stealing a special item from him. The robbery is supposed to be an easy get-in, get-out, but things don't go as planned.

**Notes: **Thank you for all the kind reviews and thank you to allisoniskiller for looking this over for me again. I hope you enjoy this chapter and reviews are greatly appreciated!

* * *

"Is travelling through portals always this...wet?" Emma asks, shaking out the water from her hair and clothes. Unfortunately, the water doesn't seem to be going anywhere.

Hook laughs from his position behind the wheel. He shakes water off himself, but otherwise seems unfazed by how soaking wet he is. "It sure seems that way, but it might just be my preferred method of transportation."

Emma hums in response and tries to walk across the deck. Her legs quiver beneath her, and for a moment, it is hard to stand. Finally, she gathers herself together and is able to walk down the stairs and to her room. Once there, she changes into dry clothes and then heads back above deck.

"We'll be stopping at that city over there so the men can pull themselves together again," Hook says when she reappears beside him. Emma looks out to where he is pointing. It's an island city that looks almost similar to one of Neverland's island. Emma didn't know what she expected when travelling to a new world, but it wasn't for things to be so...so alike. She feels oddly disappointed by it, but pushes that disappointment down like she has so many other disappointments before.

"And after that?" she asks him.

" I'll take you to the man who can help you find your parents, and you'll complete your task for me."

"Sounds like a plan," Emma says, and then pauses. "What is this small task again?"

Hook grins at her. "Now, now, you'll just have to wait and see."

"Waiting and seeing isn't in my nature," she says, but she doesn't press him any further. She should - it's stupid not to know what she's been hired to do - but she doesn't.

After that, it doesn't take them long to reach the island's port. They dock and wanting to see the city for herself, Emma leaves the ship and heads into town. While most of Hook's men pass her, looking for the nearest bar, Emma is more absorbed with studying all the people. They seem normal enough, at least she doesn't see any pixies or flying boys.

Her eyes pass over sailors, merchants, mothers with too many children until they land on a couple, a red-haired woman and a dark-haired man. They look nervous, almost scared, and not knowing why, Emma decides to follow them.

Emma may be curious but she isn't stupid. She stays far away enough that they don't see her but close enough that she doesn't lose them.

When they reach the shore, Emma decides to turn back, suddenly unsure of why she was following them to begin with. The redhead turns around and notices her though. Before Emma can sprint away, the woman gets behind her and presses a knife against Emma's abdomen, preventing her from moving.

"You've been following us," the redhead accuses, digging the knife deeper into Emma's side so that it almost breaks the skin.

"Yes," Emma says, "I was just curious."

"Curious?"

The woman turns to the dark-haired man and says, "Eric, she must be working with her."

"Working with who? Listen, I'm not working with anyone, I swear."

Emma should feel like she is in more danger than she does, but the dagger pressed into her side is shaking in the redhead's hands, and in the reflection in the water, she can see the paleness of the woman's face. She may be desperate, but she is no trained killer, and if push came to shove, Emma is certain she could disarm her. As it is, the woman seems about ready to disarm herself.

"I believe her," Eric says to the redhead. "Let her go, Ariel."

Ariel releases her quickly. Emma turns to see the woman's shoulders sag in relief and the start of tears down her cheeks.

Emma knows she should just leave, go back to the ship, and prepare for the long trip tomorrow; she has already pressed her luck enough as it is. However, she stays rooted to the spot.

"Are you in trouble?" she finds herself asking the pair.

Ariel nods through her tears.

_I should walk away_, she thinks even as she says, "Maybe - maybe I can help?"

Ariel's eyes dart between her and Eric.

"Unless you can somehow steal the unstealable..." Eric says.

Emma cracks a smile. Maybe this is why she felt so drawn to them. "Well, that is in my job description."

"Eric?" Ariel says.

"She doesn't know what she's offering," Eric replies dismissively.

Emma just keeps surprising herself. With a smile, she says, "How about you tell me all about what exactly it is I'm offering and then I can decide whether it's worth the risk."

Before they can respond, footsteps sound behind them. Ariel and Eric tense, but Emma relaxes because it's just Hook.

"Don't worry, I know him," Emma says to reassure them.

"Swan, I've been looking all over for you," he says, sounding put-upon.

"Sorry," Emma says, not feeling that contrite.

"What's going on?" he asks suspiciously, looking between Ariel, Eric, and Emma. His eyes settle on Emma and he narrows his eyes at her, obviously waiting for an explanation.

"They were just about to explain that to me," Emma says, "Before you interrupted."

"Well, carry on then. Don't let my presence stop whatever the hell is going on here," Hook says snappishly.

Ariel looks between Emma and Hook nervously. Emma nods at her and then Ariel says, "I'm a mermaid, was a mermaid, but I fell in love with a human - Eric - and I made a deal with my aunt, Ursula, to make me human."

"And what did she get in return for making you human?" Emma asks, not liking where this is going.

"A life. My deal was a human life for a human life. I'm supposed to kill a human and bring her their heart in order to remain in this form. In fact, I'm supposed to be meeting her soon to do just that."

"The only way Ariel can remain human without killing anyone is for her to destroy the contract," Eric adds.

Emma processes this information and, without thinking on it much, quickly comes to a decision.

"I'm going to help them," Emma says to Hook in a tone that leaves no room for argument.

"Really?" Hook scoffs in disbelief, raising an eyebrow at her. He kicks at the sand beneath his feet uselessly and then strides over to Emma purposefully. "Do you even know who Ursula is? Do you know what she is capable of?"

"I can take her."

Hook chuckles drily. "Emma, my dear, she is a sea witch, a conjurer of the sea. She has powers that even I do not and do not want to know about."

Emma, ever defiant, says, "It's not like I'm going to war with her. I just need to steal a contract. I can do it; it's what I'm good at."

He scoffs again. "That remains to be seen. Remember, I caught you."

"Sometimes, people get lucky," Emma says grumpily.

"Do you really want to test that luck with Ursula?"

Emma isn't quite sure why she is arguing this so hard. All she knows is that something in her _needs _to do this. She needs to make things right for Ariel and Eric, or at least try to.

"It's nice to know you care so much about my safety, but this is my decision," Emma says.

"I'm just protecting my investment. I didn't bring you on to watch you die within hours of starting our journey," he snaps.

"And you won't," Emma says with more assurance than she feels.

He gives her a skeptical look, and then says, "Fine. I'll wait while you help the poor sods."

Emma turns back to Ariel and Eric. "So how am I supposed to reach her?"

Ariel steps forward. "I can help you with that. It's underwater, so you won't be able to reach it as a human."

"What - you mean?" Emma says, comprehension dawning on her.

"I'll have to make you a mermaid," Ariel says.

Emma gives her a bewildered look. "If you can do that, why don't you just make Eric a merman so that you can live together under the water?"

Ariel looks on at her in frustration, though her tone is calm as she states, "Because, the enchantment doesn't last more than a day. And - I want to be human. I want to walk on land, feel the ground beneath my feet. I was never meant to be a mermaid; that life isn't for me."

Emma nods. She can appreciate what it's like to feel like you don't belong. She has felt that way her whole life. The two women share a look of understanding. "So, the enchantment only lasts a day - how long does it take to get to her?"

Ariel gives her a grateful, almost teary smile. "You're really going to do this. You're really going to help us." Hook and Eric stare at Emma as if waiting for her confirmation.

"Well, yeah," Emma says, suddenly feeling uncomfortable by all the attention on her. _This is just a job_, Emma thinks, trying not to fall down under the weight of Ariel and Eric's hopes.

With Emma's confirmation, Ariel's whole demeanor changes. With business-like ruthlessness, she says, "Do you see that black rock jutting out of the water?"

Emma looks out across the sea. She can just make out the rock Ariel is talking about. The sunlight glints off of it, making it look sinister.

"She lives there?" Emma guesses.

Ariel nods. "Now, what you'll need to do while she's gone is get past her guards, Flotsam and Jetsam, the electric eels, and make it to her potions room. That's where she keeps all her contracts."

"Okay," Emma says. It seems daunting now that she has heard everything. She has dealt with guarded treasure before though. _It shouldn't be too difficult._ "I can do this."

"Can you, Swan?" Hook asks, an uncertain look on his face.

"Of course," Emma says haughtily, annoyed at his lack of faith. She already has enough doubt of her own, she doesn't need his coupled with that.

"Since we're supposed to be meeting her here in half an hour, that should give you time to reach there and get back before she returns home," Eric says. "Thank you for doing this for us."

Emma suppresses the "Don't thank me just yet" response and says, "So, about this transformation?"

"You should get in the water," Ariel says.

Emma makes a face at her clothes getting soaked for the second time today, but does as she is told, walking into the water hip deep. She closes her eyes against the cold and when she opens them, she is no longer standing on human legs but floating on a fish tail. She lets her mouth fall open in an 'O' of surprise and looks herself over. In addition to the scaled fish tail, her shirt is gone and in its place is the traditional mermaid top of choice: a seashell bra. _I'm wearing a seashell bra_. Emma frowns and feels a wave of regret for her hasty decision-making wash over her.

"Wow," Hook says and breaks down into laughter.

"Stop laughing," Emma grumbles, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm sorry," Hook says as he wipes tears of laughter from his eyes.

"Not everyone can pull off the seashell bra," Emma says.

Hook looks her up and down hungrily, a onceover that leaves Emma feeling warm inside, and says, "No, you pull it off _very _well. You just look so unhappy - the unhappiest mermaid I've ever seen."

"Oh," she says, for some reason feeling better about his explanation. She frowns at her own reaction and tries to focus on something else. She flips her tail in the water experimentally. It seems like swimming should be easy to pick up. She wondered once when she was younger what it would feel like to be a mermaid. It seems that today she is going to find out.

The water laps up past her chest and she shivers, wishing she were wearing a shirt even though she knows it wouldn't do her any good against the cold.

"I think the mermaid look suits you," Hook continues, leering at her. Emma rolls her eyes and crosses her arms over her chest.

"You should get going," Ariel says softly. "Ursula will be here soon, and I know I won't be able to make her stay long."

Emma nods, gathers herself together, and dives under the water. Despite knowing instinctively knowing that she would be able to, it's a surprise when she sucks in water and breathes in instead of drowning.

It feels absolutely wonderful. Emma does a back flip in the water, relishing in the feeling of it against her new skin. She stretches out in the water in order to get used to the feeling of moving with her tail and then starts the trek to Ursula's lair.

Emma swims faster than she has ever swam with her human legs. She passes by schools of fish that study her with wide blank eyes and rainbow-coloured seaweed that caresses her skin. It doesn't take her long to reach Ursula's home. She stops just behind a large rock before she makes her approach. She doesn't see Ursula's eel guards, but she can be sure they're in the area.

Taking a deep breath, Emma makes for the sinister looking entrance. Nothing attacks her as she makes her way through long, narrow passages and into the belly of the cave. She doesn't let her guard fall though, preparing herself in case of an attack, and wishing that she had thought to bring a weapon with her.

The potions room is easy to find, but Ariel's contract is not. Emma doesn't let herself get distracted by the myriad of interesting and disturbing looking jars littered around the room. She goes for the pile of papers on the desk, flipping through them for any sign of a contract with Ariel's name on it.

"Hah," she whispers to herself when she finds it. She has nowhere to put the scroll of magically preserved paper, so she just holds it in her hand and starts to swim her way out of the cavern when she sees a large shadow in the doorway.

"She didn't have it!" an angry female voice says, the sound radiating off the walls off the cavern.

Emma gulps. Ursula is back, and Emma is caught.


	5. Chapter 4

**Title: **i wanna know why you got me going

**Summary: **AU. Emma was never sent through the wardrobe to our world. Instead the curse fails, and Emma is sent to Neverland, where she grows up into a thief for hire. When Captain Hook docks at their port, Emma is tasked with stealing a special item from him. The robbery is supposed to be an easy get-in, get-out, but things don't go as planned.

**Notes: **I know, it's been forever and a day since I updated this fic, but I finally have some inspiration for it again. Hopefully, I'll be able to update it again soon. Unbeta'ed, any and all mistakes are my own, feel free to point them out.

* * *

Emma ducks down under a table as the shadow's owner moves into the room. She follows the shadow with her eyes. They widen as the shadow of Ursula's tentacles move across the walls. _Eight._ Ariel never told her what Ursula looked like, never told her that she might have to face this. Ursula only needs one tentacle to wring the life out of Emma. _Eight_. Emma has no idea how she is going to deal with this.

No weapon and no help forthcoming. All she has is herself.

She eyes the shelf-lined walls of Ursula's home. Miscellaneous potions of all sorts of size and color are piled on the shelves. There must be something there that can help Emma.

Her eyes catch sight of one, a blood red potion that bubbles dangerously. Unlike the other potions, which by some kind of magic don't spill out into the water although they are uncovered, this one is corked, as if Ursula is afraid of what might happen if it spills.

Emma waits for the right moment, when the shadow is turned away from her, and then dives for the potion. Emma tucks the contract under her arm, and tugs at the cork. The cork won't come off no matter how hard Emma pulls at it. Ursula starts to turn and Emma doesn't think, just acts. With all her strength, she pulls at the cork until it pops out. Immediately the contents of the bottle start to bubble. Not wanting to see how it might react to her, Emma tosses it at Ursula, the glass shattering as it hits her body.

In the chaos as Ursula's skin starts to bubble and she starts to scream, Emma swims through and under her writhing tentacles and out the entrance to the cavern.

She can just see the exit and can almost taste freedom when something slams against her. Her body seizes up as massive bolts of electricity go through her and she drops the contract. Emma almost blacks out from the pain but through sheer force of will, she stays awake. Grabbing at the thing that attacked her, she sees that it is an electric eel, almost too wide to fit into her hands. Ruthlessly and with the last of her strength, Emma grabs for its head just as it revs up for another attack. She squeezes hard and feels the snap as its bones break beneath her hands. She releases it, letting the dead eel fall to the ground just as her vision begins to dance from the pain.

She closes her eyes and they almost refuse to reopen, but when they finally do, the first thing she sees is the contract, reminding her why she can't just lie down here and let the pain take her away.

"Come on," she says to herself as Ursula's screams echo in her ears and the cavern shakes ominously around her. "Come on."

Emma snatches up the contract and starts to swim slowly away. Unlike earlier, her return journey is devoid of any signs of life. It is as if everything senses the danger surrounding her.

Ever so slowly, the pain starts to fade away, and the swimming grows easier until she is moving almost normally under the water. She speeds up and soon sees the shore and Hook's shadow looming over the water. She breaks the surface at top speed and splashes to shore.

"Change me back," Emma says to Ariel who is standing just behind Hook, looking at Emma in trepidation.

"I -"

"Change me back!" Emma says, cranky from the still lingering pain.

Ariel doesn't respond, but does something with her hands, and Emma is human again. She breathes a sigh of relief, happy to be back in her own skin.

"Here's your contract," she says, tossing the slip of paper to Ariel before collapsing to the ground. She closes her eyes. _It's over._

Not even seconds after she has the thought, something large explodes in the sea. Emma opens her eyes to see the rock where Ursula's lair used to be start to slide into the sea.

"Swan, what did you do?" Hook asks her.

Emma turns wide eyes on him. "Don't take that tone with me. I defended myself. I needed to get out of there in one piece, so I took a chance."

"What kind of chance?" Ariel asks quietly.

Emma leans up on her elbows so she can look at Ariel and says in a carefully nonchalant tone, "I used one of her potions against her. Last thing I saw of her, her skin was bubbling off her body."

"What?" Hook and Eric say simultaneously.

"I also killed an eel that tried to shock me to death. Are you going to take offense at that too?" Emma retorts, angry at their reactions.

"Calm down, darling. I'm just impressed," Hook says.

_Oh, _Emma thinks.

"I'm not your darling," she says. She stands up, brushing sand off her clothes, and says, "We should probably get out of here."

"I'm thinking you're right, but a little too late," Hook says, pulling out his sword.

"Huh?" Emma says, turning to see what he is looking at.

The sea has turned a dark, murky green and the water bubbles ominously. Emma grabs at the knife on her side, following Hook's example and preparing herself for whatever she may face.

When Ursula breaks the surface of the water, Emma lets out a gasp at the horrific sight. The sea witch has grown in size, swelled out, and her skin which used to be purple is now as green as the water. Her hair is rotting from her head and her eyes are a sunken yellow. She looks like something brought back from the dead.

Emma looks at her small dagger and glances back at Ursula, cursing herself inwardly for never thinking to carry a sword. She had never needed to before, being able to fend off the majority of her attackers with her bare hands, and if that didn't work, she always had her dagger. A dagger is pretty useless in this situation though. Ursula could crush the tiny blade in one slimy tentacle.

"You -" Ursula says, pointing a tentacle in Emma's direction. Emma ducks down just in time before it slams into her, and rolls over through the sand until she is far enough back that Ursula's tentacles can't reach her.

"You're going to have to try harder than that," Emma says with bravado. She glances over at Hook to see him giving her an incredulous look. She probably shouldn't be antagonizing the angry witch, but she can't help it. Emma isn't one to back down, even in the face of almost certain death.

Another tentacle slams down angrily. The ground beneath them starts to shake, and some of the shore falls away into the depths of the ocean.

"Destroy the contract," Emma says, running over to Eric and dragging his sword out of its scabbard.

"Wait!" he shouts, but Emma doesn't want to hear that.

"Destroy the damn contract before she gets a hold of it again," Emma says. "I'll distract her."

Running to the edge of the shore, Emma waits for Ursula's next attack. She twists out of the way of the swinging tentacle and comes back around in time to slice right through it. Ursula cries out wildly, the strength of her cry reverberating off the ocean floor. The dismembered tentacle flops harmlessly next to Emma, blue blood oozing out of it.

"Come on," Emma says, daring Ursula to repeat her attack.

Wiser than she looks, Ursula doesn't aim for Emma again. Instead she says, "You've made a big mistake."

Ursula turns to Hook who still has his sword raised against her, and says, "Bring me the girl and you won't die with her."

Hook shakes his head. "Sorry mate, but I need her alive."

Ursula yells out in anger, swinging her remaining tentacles towards Hook. Emma runs towards him, intending to help him, but he manages to avoid most of them, cutting into the one that hits him and knocks him off his feet.

Suddenly, Ursula retracts all of her tentacles and transforms. Where a giant sea monster once stood, a beautiful young brunette stands in its place. Emma doesn't trust the image at all, and as it walks towards her, she raises her sword to fend off any attack that might occur.

"Would you really kill a poor defenseless girl?" the brunette asks her, coming within sword distance.

Emma looks at her curiously. Would she really do that? That doesn't seem like something Emma would do, and it definitely isn't right.

She starts to lower her sword. There is a niggling feeling that something isn't right, but it is so faint that Emma ignores it. She drops the sword to the ground.

"Come to me," the brunette says sweetly.

_Now that seems like a good idea, why didn't I think of that?_

She starts to take steps towards her, but something holds her back. _Don't do it_, the faint voice says, _it's a trap._

But - Emma starts to argue with herself.

"Come to me!" the brunette shouts, ending the argument within Emma.

Emma takes another step. Before she can reach the brunette, she is tackled to the ground. She gives Hook a confused look as she starts to stand up again. He says something, but she can't hear and his lips are unreadable. Pinning her to the ground with one arm, he raises his sword with the other just as a tentacle slams down where they lie.

His sword cuts right through it, and suddenly the spell is lifted and Emma realizes what she nearly did. She picks up her sword just in time to slice the tentacle threatening to flatten her.

"Fooled you, didn't she?" Hook says into her ear from his place next to her. "It's a good thing I broke that trance."

"You nearly broke me in the process," Emma grouches as together they destroy the last of the swinging tentacles.

Covered in blue blood, salty water, and sand, Emma finally stands up and faces Ursula head on. Instead of the fight she expects, Ursula lies, panting in the water, her yellow eyes dulled with the look of death. Emma walks towards her, determined to finish the job. She is pulled back just before she can raise her sword to do it.

Emma turns angrily to her interrupter to see Ariel looking at her with pleading eyes.

"Don't kill her," Ariel says.

"She just tried to kill me, all of us. Are you seriously asking me to let her live?"

Ariel nods. "She is still my aunt."

"Your murderous aunt who tried to get you to cut someone's heart out," Emma says. She tries to move past Ariel, but Ariel stands her ground.

Emma expects another pointless argument from Ariel, but it is Ursula who speaks instead.

"Kill me and you'll never find him," Ursula says.

Emma is about to say how very much she doesn't care about never finding whoever Ursula is talking about, but Hook cuts her off.

"You want to elaborate on that?" he says dangerously. He walks over to where Ariel is standing, his sword raised. Eric runs over, stepping between Hook and Ariel, glaring at him icily.

"I know who you seek," she says, "And I give him to you, for a price."

"I don't make deals," Hook says. "Especially not with magic wielders."

"Then you'll have wasted all that time you spent in Neverland for nothing," she says, letting out a hoarse laugh.

The laughter continues, growing wild. _She's unhinged,_ Emma thinks, but then another thought occurs to her.

She turns to Hook. "This man, is he the one who can help me find my parents?"

After a delayed moment, Hook nods. He opens his mouth to say something, but then closes his mouth as if thinking better of it. Finally, he says, "It's your choice. She came to kill you, so it's your choice whether she dies or not."

Emma nods her head. If she kills her, she'll never find the man who can help her find her parents, and she'll be stuck in this world that isn't home. But Neverland was never home either. Emma also has to consider whether Ursula is lying or not.

She looks the dying witch over and thinks, _What have I got to lose?_

Shoving past Ariel and Eric, Emma raises her sword, points it at Ursula's belly, and says, "Tell me how to find him and make a promise never to attack us or them again."

As if by magic, a contract floats down towards Emma followed by a quill. Emma catches them easily with one hand.

"It's all there in the contract. Sign it and seal the deal," Ursula says.

Emma is wary about putting her sword down to sign it. Hook sees her dilemma and walks over, driving his own blade against the witch while Emma puts her sword down to sign the contract. She looks it over first, but there doesn't seem to be any loopholes to be found. With trepidation, Emma sign the paper. When her signature is on the page, the quill and contract fade away to nothing in her hands. Emma picks her sword again and pushes it back against Ursula's belly.

"I don't know his exact location," Ursula says. Emma presses the blade harder against her stomach, drawing blue blood. "But I do know where you will find your answer."

"Where?" Emma says.

Ursula turns yellowed eyes on her and a grin slowly spreads across her mottled face.

"In the Isle of Dreams, of course, but good luck getting there."

Emma stares up at Ursula. She doesn't know if her ability to ferret out the truth works on sea witches, but she doesn't detect a lie.

"Hook?" she says, turning to him. "Can we get there?"

"Yes we can," he says simply though there is a crease in his brow that worries Emma.

She shifts her attention back to Ursula and says, "Thanks. Now go back to whatever hole you crawled out of."

"With pleasure," the witch says and dives back into the sea.

Emma watches the sea finally turn back to a clear blue as Ursula swims away. She feels nervous about the contract she just signed, but so far Ursula has held up her side of the bargain so Emma is fairly comfortable that she and this island's people are safe.

"Thank you. Thank you so much," Ariel says, running over to her. Eric walks over too, and when he reaches them, Emma hands him back his sword.

"Sorry about that," she says.

"You needed it more than I did, though I do think you should invest in your own," he says, his unspoken "You'll probably need it" hanging in the air.

"I'll do that," Emma says instead of arguing that she won't need to. This Isle of Dreams sounds ominous; she doesn't think that her dagger will be much help there either.

"As the prince, I can offer you all the treasures of this island," Eric says. "But that will never be enough for what you've done."

Emma feels uncomfortable under the weight of his _princely_ thanks. She shrugs just as Hook says, "All the treasure?"

Emma turns and gives him a look. "Seriously?"

"I'm a pirate, love. Even the hint of treasure _gets me going_," Hook says, gracing her with lascivious smile.

Emma rolls her eyes at him and says, "Do you really need it?"

"No," Hook says seriously. "Doesn't stop me from wanting it."

Emma turns back to Ariel and Eric and says, "Your thanks is enough."

Hook huffs behind her, but Emma ignores him. Instead she continues, "But I think I will take directions to the nearest place I can get this stuff off of me."

Hook's latest huff turns into a laugh. "What she said."

After getting the directions and saying their goodbyes, they leave Ariel and Eric to their own devices, and together Emma and Hook make their way to the inn and bar that Eric pointed them to. Eric gave them enough gold to cover their expenses there, but Emma wouldn't let him give them anymore, to Hook's disgust.

"I like treasure too, but taking their money felt wrong to me for some reason," Emma says in response to his annoyance.

"You prefer stealing it yourself. I know, I understand the feeling," Hook says all too correctly, coming up beside her, too close for Emma's comfort.

"You smell like sweat and death," Emma says, pushing him away.

"You're no rose yourself," Hook replies with a laugh.

They reach the inn and when they enter, they get all kinds of weird looks from all the patrons. Emma pays them no mind, although she feels uncomfortable. She doesn't like the attention, is used to working in stealth and being generally ignored by most people.

"Two rooms," she says to the innkeeper.

He gives them incredulous looks until they give him the gold for their rooms, and then his look becomes even more bewildered.

"We'll take ourselves upstairs then?" Emma says, and that gets the innkeeper moving. He shows Hook and Emma to their rooms.

Emma spends a long, _long _ time in the bath, savouring the feeling of the fresh water cleaning her skin. She nearly died today, is still in pain. And for what? The chance to finally meet her parents. She thinks on it and realizes that she doesn't regret it at all. This chance is worth too much to her to give up on it just because she nearly got herself killed by a sea witch.

It isn't until her skin has started to prune and the water has cooled considerably that she gets out of the bath, and even then she wants to stay in it. She wants a drink more though so she dresses and heads back to the bar.

She finds Hook already there, chatting with one of the female patrons, who seems to find whatever he is whispering in her ear hilarious because she can't stop giggling. Emma rolls her eyes and tries to ignore it as she orders herself a beer. She is halfway through her drink when Hook walks over and takes a seat beside her at the bar.

"She had to go home," he says to Emma.

"Didn't ask," Emma says.

"About the Isle of Dreams..." he trails off.

"Yes," Emma says, finally shifting her attention from her beer to him.

"It's going to be difficult to get to," he says. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"What's the problem?" Emma asks.

"Astute of you," he comments, and then lets out a sigh. "We need something special to get there."

"And what's that?" Emma asks.

He gives her a serious look. "A child."

Emma raises both eyebrows at that. "We need a kid? Really?"

"The Isle only opens to those purest of heart, and what's purer than a child," Hook says.

"Captain!"

Hook turns on his stool, and Emma follows the action to see Smee standing before them, wringing his hat in his hands.

"I heard what happened and me and the boys are sorry that we weren't there to help you."

Hook rolls his eyes dramatically and leans forward on his stool. Pulling Smee towards him with his hook, he says, "Think nothing of it."

Emma chuckles as he releases Smee who seems to have a new life in him now that he knows Hook isn't angry.

"Should I ready the boys to set sail?" Smee asks.

"Aye," Hook says, looking directly at Emma. "We've got quite the journey ahead of us."


End file.
